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Sounds like:
Social Studies,
LoveLikeFire
Why do we like this?
Hailing from Austin, TX by way of Sacramento, Agent Ribbons is a sassy all-girl band notorious for their minimalist approach to garage pop. As a two-piece, Natalie Gordon (vocals/guitar) and Lauren Hess (drums/accordion) had mastered arranging gooey-sweet yet tongue-in-cheek lyrics against raw guitar on 2006's Upon Time Travel and Romance. While they have retained their Sleater-Kinney attitude and Peggy Lee-esque vocals, Agent Ribbons have broadened their repertoire to encompass Baroque rock with the addition of violinist/cellist Natalie Cherie on their sophomore album, Chateau Crone (Antenna Farm Records).
From the sexually liberated to the coquettish and demur, Chateau Crone is a retrospective look at romance from the perspectives of different types of women. In "I'm Alright," Agent Ribbons lay down the law with a scrappy guitar riff and steady, uncompromising handclaps, but Gordon's alto is languid. She isn't alright; she's bored.
With its pop ballad sensibility, "Born to Sing Sad Love Songs" is the best song on the LP; it's the hopeless romantic's anthem, a song just screaming out to be in a Broadway musical.
The burlesque "I'll Let You Be My Baby," begins with a sleazy, come-hither accordion that leads to an unabashedly sexual chorus, "You're good in bed / Enough said." But while in "My Hands, Your Hands" Cherie's frenzied violin does add texture, the sonic shift at the hook is unnecessary. In fact, removing the entire hook ("I miss / Your kiss / But I'm happy like this") would provide the track with a flow that it is presently lacking.
Since the release of Chateau Crone, Cherie has left Agent Ribbons. While her bandmates grieve the loss, nothing has been lost sonically. In truth, Cherie's violin or cello parts were superfluous and added little "“- if any -"“ depth to the music. Alas, Agent Ribbons is back to being a duo. Sometimes, less is more.
From the sexually liberated to the coquettish and demur, Chateau Crone is a retrospective look at romance from the perspectives of different types of women. In "I'm Alright," Agent Ribbons lay down the law with a scrappy guitar riff and steady, uncompromising handclaps, but Gordon's alto is languid. She isn't alright; she's bored.
With its pop ballad sensibility, "Born to Sing Sad Love Songs" is the best song on the LP; it's the hopeless romantic's anthem, a song just screaming out to be in a Broadway musical.
The burlesque "I'll Let You Be My Baby," begins with a sleazy, come-hither accordion that leads to an unabashedly sexual chorus, "You're good in bed / Enough said." But while in "My Hands, Your Hands" Cherie's frenzied violin does add texture, the sonic shift at the hook is unnecessary. In fact, removing the entire hook ("I miss / Your kiss / But I'm happy like this") would provide the track with a flow that it is presently lacking.
Since the release of Chateau Crone, Cherie has left Agent Ribbons. While her bandmates grieve the loss, nothing has been lost sonically. In truth, Cherie's violin or cello parts were superfluous and added little "“- if any -"“ depth to the music. Alas, Agent Ribbons is back to being a duo. Sometimes, less is more.
Streaming source:
http://soundcloud.com/antennafarm/agent-ribbons-im-alright
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